30 to Midnight

Marriott Marquis, Times Square

Sunday post-matinee

Broadway Lounge
New York Marriott Marquis
1535 Broadway (8th Ave.), Manhattan

Since childhood Sara has loved the glass elevators at the Marriott Marquis. But there's much more to see here. The Broadway Lounge doesn't rotate, but you can still get a seat overlooking Broadway, which is the best way to be near that uber-busy avenue. True it's more tourist-appropriate than age-appropriate but it's always appropriate to take a minute to remember how gorgeous are the lights and movements of the City.

Bars in Madison Square Park on a Sunday Night

If you happen to be wandering around, thinking of grabbing a drink and a snack at a restaurant bar in Madison Square Park - SD26 (left picture) and Eleven Madison Park are closed on Sundays. Tabla is open. If that leads you to an uptown subway, please note that The Mark Restaurant (below picture) is currently open only for brunch on Sundays (that will change in the upcoming months).

Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill, Midtown West

Friday, 10:30pm

Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill
6 Columbus Hotel
6 Columbus Circle (aka 308 W. 58th St.), Manhattan

Thankfully we have some smart friends who know about things like uptown Blue Ribbon when you, say, can't get a seat at the bar at Marea, or when you need a quietish-not-boring spot for a date. And not-boring doesn't always mean fire drill, though it did the night we sat at the bar drinking and snacking and meeting AA women from LA.

Sometimes we meet women, and later they contact us to say hello, which we'd attribute to female courtesy but maybe they're really interested in our press contacts because they make and sell an unusual product. Or maybe they're just friendly.  Either way, they, like us, know that you're never alone when you sit at the bar. That's a good thing. Bartender says the crowd is almost always AA. We noticed couples; he nodded. We also noticed those firemen checking us out (while we were taking pictures of them and their shiny truck). Pretty sure they are AI (we used to watch Rescue Me, as you know). AI is for looking. AA is for touching.

Reader Says: Star Lounge at the Ritz Carlton, when Norman's working

Thanks to Steve Skulnik for writing in...

I have just found your site. I have been age appropriate since 1989.
You do have one glaring error. You do not cover Norman (Bukofzer, head bartender at the Ritz-Carlton's Star Lounge). Martinis and Manhattans his specialty. But the experience is much better than the booze.
Norman does not work on Fridays and Saturdays and some Mondays. It's a completely different experience when he's not there.

Star Lounge
Ritz-Carlton Hotel, New York, Central Park
50 Central Park South (6th Ave.), Manhattan
11:30am toMidnight

Knave, Parker Meridien, Midtown West

Thursday, 8pm

Knave Cafe & Bar at Le Parker Meridien Hotel
118 West 57th St. (6th AVe.), Manhattan

"Excuse me," Sara asked a concierge in the lobby while pointing, "What's the name of this bar?"
Concierge 1: The Knave.
Sara: Knave? Like chess?
Concierge 1: That's knight.
Concierge 2: Like a church, because it looks like a nave.
Sara: N-A-V-E?
Concierge 2: Yes, but we spell it K-N-A-V-E for the, you know, person.
Sara: Like in Chaucer?
Blank Stares
Sara: Canterbury Tales? Wasn't there a Knave's Tale?
Blank Stares, still
Sara: Or what that a knight too? The Knight, The Reeve, The Nuns Priest...
Donna: Let's just get a drink.
Sara: The Miller...maybe there wasn't a knave.
Concierge 2: Get a card and you'll see it on the logo.

The logo, incidentally, shaped so the figure makes a sort of "K", looks like kokopelli, just to add to the confusion at the prime meridian. 

The Knave (the bar) is surprisingly welcome in its narrowness. Age Appropriates, mostly the male version, sit, drinking cocktails, coffees, and beer. We're into it. And, if you haven't yet realized that Burger Joint isn't half the burger joint it used to be, (tear), you can have one sent to you.

Italian Wine in NYC, Happening Now

It's Italian Wine Week in NYC.
30toMidnight is going to start an education column, everything from Art to Wine. While we work on that we have to tell you about a variety -pun! get it, varietal? funny because it sort of means the opposite thing. hmm- of wine promotions at bars, restaurants and shops throughout Manhattan, until February 10th: Flights, Pairings, By-The-Glass specials on wines from Apulia, Calabria, Tuscany and Veneto here:

Bull & Bear Steakhouse (Lexington Ave at 49th St., Manhattan)
Le Cirque (Bloomberg Building, 151 East 58th St., Lexington Ave., Manhattan)
SD26 (19 East 26th St., Madison Square Park, Manhattan)
Salumeria Rosi (283 Amsterdam Ave., 74th St., Manhattan)
Serafina (29 East 61st St., Madison Ave., Manhattan)

Click to check out the complete Vino 2010 list.

Gramercy Park Hotel Roof Club and Garden

Sunday, 11pm

Gramercy Park Hotel Roof Club and Garden
2 Lexington Ave. (21st St.), Manhattan

We had a sick meal at Mialino (also in the Gramercy Park Hotel) then elevated and walked up to the Roof Bar, which was mostly empty and completely lovely, as evidenced by this captivating photo. If they can manage to keep it mostly empty and completely AA (which it was) we'll be back. You can reserve sections for group gatherings, which could be nice if, again, the rest of the space is not jam-packed. Because we like our jam a little thin. We like jelly. 

Jade Bar, Gramercy Park Hotel

Sunday, Midnight

Jade Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel
2 Lexington Ave. (21st St.), Manhattan

Someone who is not allowed to have liquor, particularly after an afternoon of Bloody Marys, got involved with Pineapple and Ginger Margaritas at the Jade Bar. That someone was hungover for three days. That someone now remembers why she is not allowed to have liquor. That someone was 13,425-days-old at the time of the consumption. The forgetting about the not allowing seems to happen about once every 500 days, which means watch out May-June 2011.

We did not need to make a reservation to enter the cozy Jade Bar, but sometimes that is necessary. It's always necessary at the adjacent Rose Bar. E-mail them if you want to try to get in. We're into that exclusivity because we like the way it keeps out the AI's (the majority of guests at this hotel are AA). We also like the way it promotes forethought. Someone needs to get back on that program.

The Garden Restaurant and Wine Bar, Midtown East

Saturday, 7:45pm

The Garden Restaurant and Wine Bar
Four Seasons Hotel
57 E. 57th St. (Park Ave.), Manhattan

How naïve we were when we drank NV rose Moët at Nobu 57. Hmm. Digression coming. Two umlauts in one sentence. Can we get three? How naïve we were during noël when we drank NV rose Moët at Nobu 57. Holy cow we could put an accent on rosé and really go punctuation mark nuts.
And we're going to stop torturing you now. What were we talking about? Oh, yes, surprisingly priced champagne on 57th Street.

We met some friends for drinks at the Four Seasons. The plan was to sit at the Garden Wine Bar, but that's not open on Saturdays or Sundays. We went, instead, to what we would call 5757 but is now called The Bar. There, Sara ordered cava and Julie ordered rose. Bartender assumed sparkling rose and began to pour Moët into a glass.
-Did you want champagne, asked Sara, glancing back to the menu, because it's $35 and I'm not convinced it's possible to enjoy it quite that much.
-Didn't want champagne, said Julie, shaking her head, astounded.
-She wanted the other rose, says Sara to the bartender, not sparking.
-Bartender lifts her head, nods, moves the 3/4-full glass to the service bar, then pours the correct wine.

$26.25 of NV rose Moët taunts us while we toast and begin our night. Bartender doesn't drink it, doesn't offer it to us, doesn't do a thing. Then, suddenly, the glass disappears. We surely hope someone actually drank the stuff.

And now, as promised, an age analysis of the crowd. As you might expect, Age Appropriateness abounds when you're sitting in a Four Seasons hotel across from L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon (another umlaut!). The hotel's other open lounge was also AA. we'll have to investigate The Garden another time. We of course expect it to be AA, even when holidays and tourists overwhelm Midtown.

The Crosby Bar, SoHo

Friday, 7:15pm

The Crosby Bar
79 Crosby St. (Spring St.), Manhattan

Sara text to Annie: It's unbelievably normal in here.

Inside this hotel bar (which allegedly gets packed with mens who like mens) the lights are right, drinks are right, the food is right, and the music is at an ideal volume (loud enough to feel vibrant; low enough for conversation).
Sara sat at a small table between a banquette and a low chair before noticing an emptying bar stool. She conversed with a server while moving to the bar. An angry boy ran ahead of her, grabbing one of two empty seats. "I'm waiting for someone," he said when she reached for the other seat.
"So am I she said," smiling, unnerved by bad manners.
"Is it someone special?" he asked, attempting to recover and flirt.
"Yes," she said. "My friend."
He was silent. She held her ground.
"You?" she asked.
"I'm waiting for a friend too," he said, back to being angry.
Two more seats opened. Sara moved. The angry boy not only did not offer, but also looked down as if ignoring the possibility somehow excused his continuing bad manners.
"This is social," Sara said, meaning the empty seat between them.
The angry boy laughed, then checked his phone.
The angry boy, by the way, was probably 30, which made him among the youngest in the house. Later, when Annie arrived, two 40's, designers from Mexico City, talked to us about restaurants and coffee shops. They were staying at the Ace Hotel, but heard Crosby Bar had a better scene. We guess that means something about mens, but don't know. Either way, we like the scene here too, and so will you, and the hotel is lovely.